The World Test Championship (WTC) finals has started and the excitement levels are at peak in this summit clash. India are crossing swords with Australia and skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first in this pulsating final.
India started off well and took the wicket of Usman Khawaja upfront. The southpaw departed without troubling the scoreboards and Mohammad Siraj had plotted the dismissal.
Primarily why Rohit Sharma opted to bowl first was because of the overcast and cloudy conditions above. This could be an added advantage for the Indians.
In this article, we take a look at 3 reasons why the team bowling first can win the WTC finals at The Oval:
1. The conditions are overcast
If we take a look at the conditions at The Oval, then they are cloudy and overcast. Bowling first during these conditions can help the bowling team exercise their dominant muscles and thereby get a lead in the game.
If India can bundle out Australia within 250-300, then they would be pretty happy with themselves.
2. India can get a hang of the conditions
India is playing in England after 1 year and they aren’t really acclimatized to the conditions. Batting first during these conditions could have been risky as there was an element of uncertainty in the initial overs and sessions.
With the opposition batting first, the Rohit Sharma led side can get a hang of the entire conditions and can avoid those mistakes. This was really a good toss which Rohit Sharma won today at The Oval.
3. Chasing might not be difficult in the 4th innings
In India, chasing in the 4th innings is a very improbable task if there is a huge total. India can easily chase down the total in the 4th innings as unlike India, it won’t be a rank turner. Yes, the conditions will be swing and seam friendly, but batting will not be tough.
India has some good and classy batters and batting runs deep for the Indian cricket team. Be it Ravindra Jadeja or Shardul Thakur, India’s lower middle-order batters have a lot of expertise under their belt.
They will be hoping to score some runs and get some good knocks under their belt in order to power India to a victory at The Oval. A victory would mean that India win the coveted World Test Championship (WTC) finals in their 2nd attempt.
Also read: WTC Finals 2023: 3 Reasons Why Umesh Yadav Can Have A Good Game
